Wits lose star players

New Absa Premiership champions Bidvest Wits will lose on-loan players Mogakolodi Ngele and Cuthbert Malajila, who are returning to Mamelodi Sundowns, coach Gavin Hunt has said.

He said the Brazilians asked for "double figures" to buy the duo.

Hunt said Wits would try to retain the core of their squad for next season. Most of the players were tied up in contracts.

With the South African market overpriced, Wits would again look for players on free transfer and cast their net outside the country, he said.

On Malajila and Ngele, Hunt said: "The players are going back. Sundowns want double figures [in millions] for them. They don't want to go back, but they'll go back. That was part of the deal."

Hunt said Wits would look for sensible deals to bring in players during the off-season.

"We're going to lose a few more players. There are a few going already. So that's another problem," he said.

"And it is a problem if you look at the local market. I said to somebody yesterday: 'If you give somebody R100-million, who are you going to buy in South Africa?'

"Because you don't want to pay prices like that and spend ridiculous money on players. And we don't do that.

"So it's very difficult to acquire players. We have to look in the free market. But it doesn't always work. And you're fortunate to get one or two, like we did.

"There are a lot of teams in South Africa that I think need rebuilding, and where are they going to get players from if you look around the league?

"So, ja, we've got three or four candidates we have really tried to get. We've been working on that for the last month or so. But it's not really happening at this stage.

"We're keeping most of our players. We've got pretty much all of our players tied up so they'll be with us next season, I hope."

Sundowns coach Pitso Mosimane said he knew where the PSL trophy was and he was going to fetch it next season.

"I know the address," he said. "It's just on the freeway. I think [we will go and fetch it]. We will strengthen the team. Trust me. We know where we had problems."

The Brazilians' biggest problem this season was juggling domestic and continental commitments. Sundowns played 54 matches after lifting the league in May last year. They even went to Japan for the Fifa Club World Cup.